Solar technology has come on leaps and bounds over the last decade, so much so that not only are those in the domestic sphere concerning themselves with personal systems, the commercial landscape also seems to have shifted slightly towards a greener future.
Here are 5 of the most important break-throughs that have happened in the last 10 years to explain why solar technology is far more commonplace and why we are likely to see a lot more of the technology in the future:
Thin-Film Technology
Chih-hung Chang, associate professor of chemical engineering at Oregon State University, has made a really important break-through recently about the efficiency and effectiveness of solar technology. The new technology uses micro-reactors to reduce waste of solar energy while lowering the cost of production, dramatically.
Cow Brain Protein
To the non-cellular scientist, this may sound like an odd prospect but as Sarah Heilshorn of Stanford University has found, cow brains contain an abundance of clathrin, a key protein in the work of cellular biology, regenerative medicine and perhaps even green energy. For the application to batteries and solar cells, clathrin can be used to form nanostructured inorganic materials.
Giant Gravel Batteries
Engineers in Cambridge, UK seem to have cracked the energy storing issue. Many renewable energy supporters have had to defend the use of wind, bio fuel and of course solar power because of the ineffective energy storing solutions of the past but the giant gravel batteries seem to have provided the answer.
Highly-Efficient Solar Concentrator Designs
Electrical engineering Ph.D. student, at the University of California, San Diego, Joseph Karp, has made an amazing advancement in the field of solar panels with a design that requires solar panels to have less photovoltaic cells which can cut the cost of panels by a vast margin. Companies like Dulas can install commercial solar panels at cost effective rates meaning the initial investment for businesses is at its lowest point in the history of renewable energy.
Solar power plants
The world’s sunbelts, specifically large expanses where no one really lives, for example the Sahara desert, will be put to good use when it comes to solar energy. This is great news for those who will be purchasing the cheap, green electricity, mainly those living in the heart of Europe and, for those living in countries who will be supplying the energy. The process could really boost the economy of countries where poverty is widespread.
